Recently, customers have more and more often been requesting so-called fully integrated household appliances. A fully integrated household appliance is designed without handles. This means that the household appliance can be completely paneled. With such a household appliance, a door or drawer is no longer opened by mechanically pulling on a handle, but rather, by means of an appropriate mechatronic system. In this case, one or more sensors detect a command by a user, and subsequently an opening drive can open the door or drawer.
International application WO 2009/132813 A1 describes a generic fully integrated dishwasher without a handle. For this purpose, a decorative panel is spring-mounted on the door. Moreover, a sensor is provided to detect a relative movement between the decorative panel and the door. Sensors that can be used include especially a force sensor, a piezoelectric sensor, a contact sensor or proximity sensor. In order to reliably make a distinction between a useful signal and an interference signal, this device requires a commensurately high actuation force.
On the other hand, German utility model DE 20 2007 006 818 U1 describes a cabinet with drawers that is configured to recognize when a user acoustically expresses a door-opening command. For this purpose, sound sensors are provided, and it is proposed for a sound sensor to be connected to the drawers by means of a spring-loaded probe, and for another sound sensor to be arranged in the rear area of the cabinet with drawers. The distinction between a useful signal and an interference signal, the so-called signal distinction, is made by evaluating the differences in the propagation time of the signals of both sensors. In order to achieve satisfactory operation, several physically segregated sensors are needed, which involves a certain amount of assembly, contacting and wiring work.
International patent WO 98/037425 describes an acceleration sensor with a deflection sensor element.
German utility model DE 20 2007 015 532 U1 describes a tilt sensor that comprises a three-axis acceleration sensor.
Although the household appliances of the state of the art have proven their worth in daily use, there is a need for improvement, especially in terms of their usefulness.